Dr. Inna Lozinskaya worked as a dedicated and compassionate hospital physician, providing internal medicine for patients every day.

But at the end of the day, she was exhausted. Compounding it, she found it hard to sleep at night.

Then, her health challenges worsened with hair loss, weight gain, brain fog and memory issues, and heartbreaking miscarriages.

She sought help from her medical colleagues, who ran extensive testing in the search for answers. Confoundingly, her lab work looked normal.

“Every time I would come [to the doctor], I would say everything I’m experiencing, and they would say, ‘Well, your labs are normal,’” she says. “I was concerned and distressed. It was scary, actually, because it’s one thing to know something and at least try to fix it. It’s another when everything is ‘normal’ and you just don’t feel well.”

Exploring Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and Functional Medicine for Midlife Health

Conventional medicine was her life’s work, but now, it seemed to be failing her — and maybe her patients too.

“I thought, all those patients that I see every day with dementia and diabetes and infections and cancers did not start there,” she says. “They started somewhere else, 20 years ago, when they didn’t feel right — and were told everything was normal.”

Inna’s search for answers took her beyond the medical system where she had trained and worked for years. Her quest led her to study Chinese medicine for a year in a Harvard program for physicians. She learned Ayurveda-based practices via Deepak Chopra’s center. She studied mind-body medicine. And she became board certified in integrative medicine.

Then, she came across what’s called functional medicine, which approaches illness from a root-cause perspective rather than treating symptoms.

“I kept going until I finally found functional medicine. That was it. That was the clinical matrix I was looking for — it incorporated all the pieces of the puzzle I’d spent so many years searching for,” she says. “And when I applied that system, that created transformation that allowed me in a very short time to get to the place where one day I looked at myself in the mirror and said, ‘I’m back.’”

She began addressing what are referred to as the four pillars of functional medicine: gut health, detoxification, hormones, and lifestyle steps.

Inna diligently addressed gut health imbalances, which reduced bloating and improved her hair and skin. She changed the way she ate, focusing on nutrient-dense foods and improving absorption while eliminating inflammatory or gut-disrupting foods.

She reduced her toxic load and optimized her liver function.

Based on lab testing, Inna worked on restoring hormonal imbalances — naturally at first. That involved addressing cortisol levels and her thyroid.

And critically, she improved her sleep hygiene and reduced work stress.

With those steps, she quickly rapid improvement.

“Within days of applying functional medicine principles, my brain fog started to lift,” she recalls. “Within eight to 12 weeks, the 15 pounds I had gained for no reason melted away — and I wasn’t even trying to lose weight. I was just finally giving my body what it needed.”

Using Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy to Treat Menopause Symptoms

Inna’s health remained stable — for a while. Then, menopause again brought on some of the previous symptoms, including weight gain, brain fog, hair and skin changes, and low libido.

By the time she tested herself, her hormone levels were “very low to none.” She found she needed to supplement with bioidentical hormones to elevate her estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels.

“Hormone replacement therapy got a bad reputation from the studies that we did in the early 2000s,” she says. “And those studies were done with synthetic hormones. In functional medicine, we work with bioidentical hormones, which means these hormones have exactly the same structure as your own body would make.”

She tried multiple routes of administration to find what worked best for her in terms of dosage and delivery method — trying pellets, creams, lozenges, patches, and injections.

“As I replaced my hormones — estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone — within four weeks, I felt way better,” she says. “We still needed to optimize dosage and change one of the routes, but I was finally myself again.”

Her brain, libido, and even her mood improved.

“Your estrogen is pretty much your natural antidepressant. Your progesterone is your natural anti-anxiety. Your testosterone is that motivator, that go-getter, that overall feel-good, confident self.”

Helping Others Thrive in Midlife with Functional Medicine

Inna’s personal experience changed her career, leading her to open the Midlife Wellness Institute in Denver. Now, she helps others navigate midlife health hurdles with a root-cause approach.

She’s a passionate advocate for a whole-body approach and comprehensive testing. She encourages others to seek answers because they deserve to feel their best at any age.

“Midlife isn’t the end — it’s the peak,” she says. “This is the best time of your life, and you deserve to feel vibrant, energized, and fulfilled.”

“If it doesn’t feel normal, don’t believe anybody who tells you this is just how it is at 40 or 50,” she adds. “Maybe that’s how you’re supposed to feel when you’re 99 — but in your midlife, you’re supposed to feel great.”

Her renewed health has not only brought energy and clarity — it’s restored joy.

“I love the way I look and feel — finally, now in my mid-fifties, I certainly feel way better than I did when I was in my thirties,” she says. “I have my practice, it’s thriving. I wake up motivated. I travel. I live a full life — and I would never settle for less again.”

You can find and follow Dr. Inna Lozinskaya at https://midlifewellnessinstitute.com.

Listen to her story on the Rebuilding My Health Radio podcast.

The Steps That Helped

Gut healing – Dr. Inna addressed imbalances in her microbiome, reduced bloating, and improved digestion — which also led to clearer skin, less hair loss, and natural weight loss.

Diet changes – She focused on nutrient-dense foods and improving absorption while eliminating inflammatory or gut-disrupting foods.

Detoxification and liver health – She reduced her toxic load, optimized liver function, and made sure her body was eliminating properly.

Sustainable lifestyle changes – Improving sleep hygiene, reducing work stress, and incorporating regular movement helped restore her energy and resilience.

Balanced hormones – She addressed cortisol and thyroid levels naturally, and later used bioidentical hormone replacement therapy — including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone — to regain clarity, motivation, and well-being in menopause.